The present technology relates to an image sensor, an operating method therefor, and an electronic device, and more particularly, to an image sensor, an operating method therefor, and an electronic device configured to reduce a blur and a rolling shutter phenomenon.
Since complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors which have become the mainstream of recent image sensors perform line-sequential reading, a rolling shutter phenomenon may occur. When moving images are captured with digital cameras during movement, images may be distorted.
This distortion can be prevented by performing line-sequential reading at a high speed. That is, for a moving image of 60 fps (frame/second), pixel data corresponding to 1 frame is normally read for 1/60 seconds. In this case, for example, by speeding up pixel data corresponding to 1 frame and reading all of the pixel data for 1/480 seconds, it is possible to suppress the rolling shutter phenomenon to ⅛.
Incidentally, when the pixel data is finally displayed on a display or is recorded on a recording medium on a rear stage, the pixel data corresponding to 1 frame has to be transmitted continuously (not intermittently) at a data rate of 1/60 seconds. Accordingly, when all of the pixels are read from an image sensor for 1/480 seconds, it is necessary to store the pixel data in a frame memory once and then adjust a timing so that the pixel data corresponding to 1 frame is continuously output for 1/60 seconds. Accordingly, in the method of the related art, the frame memory is a requisite constituent.
Technologies for correcting the rolling shutter phenomenon by controlling timings at which pixel data is read from image sensors have been suggested (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-080490 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-074372). More specifically, the technologies of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-080490 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-074372 are technologies for reading odd lines sequentially from the lower side to the upper side, reading even lines sequentially from the upper side to the lower side reversely, and performing correction in image processing from the 2 sets of data groups. In this case, when the process is performed, the pixel data of the adjacent even and odd lines are simultaneously necessary. Accordingly, in these technologies, frame memories are necessary and a device cost imposes a burden.
A technology for correcting the rolling shutter phenomenon only in a horizontal direction has also been suggested (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-358999).
Technologies for correcting the rolling shutter phenomenon in the vertical and horizontal directions have been suggested (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-287946, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-304313, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-311544). In these technologies, correction of the rolling shutter phenomenon has been embodied by dynamically switching reading timings from image sensors. However, description of a reset timing is not made and is unclear.